(A)Live in the moment

Dancing balloons or drones taking pictures early in the morning (Jess and I visited a new church's opening service yesterday).

How do I make sure that I live in the moment? Disengaged from tech, alive to warm berg winds that will blow my washing dry today super fast, hearing what small people say, alert for the God-moment that might just be a smile or wave.

This is my challenge to myself for the week. To be IN the picture, not just taking the picture.

My thought for today...

I'm not too sure there is one (grin).  A late night and 5.45 alarm means a very bleary me this morning. Still yawning my way around the house. Which is surprisingly tidy today. Very surprising!

Research for the day: rain water tanks. To save you all the trouble, the cheapest 5000L JoJo tank to purchase and bring home today is at Pennypinchers for R5000 including delivery (which is important because the delivery guys have to roll it over the roof). Cheapest overall - if you can wait another 3 weeks - is Makro at R4699 for online only orders. Not sure if that includes delivery. The reason for the research is the article I read about water in CT going forward, or rather the estimated lack of it. Did you know that 1m of roof gives 1 L of water, and that's just if there's a little shower. You can fill a 5000L tank in all of an hour if you get a decent downpour. Wow. Oh, and BTW current rainfall predictions show less than 1/3 of normal rainfall is expected for the rest of the year too. (Quick prayer here!)

We've also evaluated our household use and so far, we are at 60L/day for the whole family. Which is pretty good use of water. Shower water is used for flushing, and flushing doesn't happen unless it really needs to. Certain smaller people just forget anyway. Ick. But that does save water :)  We had a guest the other day who asked which bucket he should use to flush. Now that takes hosting to a new level. Not to mention friendship.

Did I tell you about the time I put the hose from the washing machine into the rubbish bin to collect the water and completely flooded the laundry? So much for saving water. I was rather cross and very damp as I mopped for hours. The new plan is to find a plan to get the grey water out to the lawns or to a tank for reuse. Without flooding the laundry. Or me. Aha. More research.

Could it be I am avoiding work? Ah, my coffee is ready, so there's a valid excuse to say goodbye to this rather pedestrian post.

Oh, thought for the day. Thanks Google. "Be the motivation. Not the distraction." Huh?? Ok, that's it. I am seriously not firing on any cylinders this morning. Don't get it. But I am going to get that coffee. Have a fab day all. x

Sparkles on ice

I've just got back from Ceres. A last minute agony of deciding whether or not to go. Mid-Sunday morning invite which saw me wrestling with fear of going with just the kiddies and no safety net or comfort (i.e. my Adam). Kids were keen, of course, desperately hoping to see snow. So, I pulled on my big-girl panties, loaded us all up by and we went sans Adam at 1pm, filling our bags with whatever was at home to take.

Some thoughts on the experience...
1. The driving was not as hard as I feared.
2. The roads were quieter than I expected.
3. Jessica COULD make 2 hours without a wee - yippee. And 2 hours without eating everything in sight.
4. It was colder than predicted, a lot colder.
5. Our little Honda Jazz is fab to drive, even in the rain and mist, on wet dirt roads.
6. It was good to have friends joining us on the other side.
7. Remember the chocolate next time!
8. Waterproofs for kids. Get more!
9. Late night clouds with minus 8 windchill are to be recommended.
10. Early morning oooh's when the kids saw the frost - wonderful! Playing with ice even better.

So, at 44, how old do I feel? I guess I do feel 44. The trick is to use all that life experience and not shelve it or become fearful of living. To take the occasional unplanned (long) drive on the off-chance of seeing snow.

Things to ponder now that I am back home. I am so glad I went!

(Thanks Val for the encouragement, Adam for the push and kisses goodbye/hello and trust).

Vivi living unplanned more!

The Cross(ing)

I woke up this morning and hopped onto FB to find out if the little girl swept off the rocks at Betty's Bay on Saturday afternoon has been found. Just seven, a big wave, gone. So very sad for her parents who are asking all the "what if" questions and living the "if only".

Life is so very fragile. I've waved my family off this morning. No guarantees that the small (very annoying da-da-tee-da-whoop-punch-sister boy) will throw himself into my arms later. Kisses at all times are mandatory for everyone in our home. So are hugs, and we are working on patience. Especially for purple-bottomed frogs (aka daughters who hop out of the room wearing purple leggings and not much else).

Thank you to 247 Prayer for sending your email this morning. It helps with perspective in a world that holds both purple bottom frogs and little girls lost. Feeling daunted? Even in their despair, that family is thanking the teams searching. Giving strength to those who come to comfort them. Now that is "no greater love". I am awed. They are living this out in a world of waves crashing onto rocks...

Whatever is going on in the world, fix your eyes on Jesus, and be a hope-bringer to the world. Irrespective of everything else, the Vision is Jesus.

And that, I believe, is also our hope. That little girls lost and purple bottom frogs are safe in His arms, even if we cannot hold them in our arms. In less than the time it took for one wave to wash that one rock, they can be in His arms, carried to safety. 

Such joy. Such pain. 

This is the Cross(ing).